Virginia

Now before you go gettin’ all uppity on me, I love Pamplin. It’s just that well, to quote the outgoing Mayor, “the automobile is what killed Pamplin”. Somewhere around 1880 the Pamplin Pipe factory began operating. The factory was at one time the largest producer of clay smoking pipes in the world! At peak operation, it was putting out one million pipes per month.

A small, quarter mile Main street, now mostly abandoned and with no one living in any of the second floor residences, there’s not much if any traffic traveling up or down the street. Wouldn’t it be great if investors could see the value of this location an recreate a 40/50’s era tourist destination? I think so.

It’s been quite a while since I got to do any “on location” w/model shooting for myself. As luck would have it, the old, abandoned, hydro electric power plant in town was recently acquired by a friend of mine. This is Rebecca, another friend of mine, pinup model and seamstress.

As I was told, the plant shut down in 1960. In its heyday, it generated a whopping 5000 watts. Today you can get a 5000 watt generator, about the size of a beach cooler at the hardware store. And this plant had three 60″ turbines. Since the ’60’s, the plant has been used by vagrants, partiers and graffiti artists. Soon it will become a multi floor special event venue and restaurant with roof top dining.

They’ve Got The Scoop(s)

There’s an intersection on highway’s 301 and 17 in Port Royal that is home to an iconic restaurant. Opened in 1960, Horne’s has become a favorite stop for travelers and locals alike.

Mr. Horne, a candy salesman servicing Stuckey’s Restaurants (remember those?) all over the south decided one day to start making their own candy and gave Mr. Horne the boot. So he decided to open his own chain of restaurants, fashioned them after Stucky’s selling gifts, gas, good food and of course candy.

Once headquartered in Florida, the construction of I-95 stole traffic and customers away from the 301 north/south corridor which became the demise of the chain. There are still a few remaining up and down the east coast under independent ownership. Port Royal, the surrounding area and anyone traveling the intersection of 301 and 17 is still fortunate to have Horne’s.